When the lights went out last night, we trekked down to the dam for some some truly fine beaver watching. It started with the unmistakable appearance of mom, who came and sat near us to give the necessary view of her tail. Then all three kits and later the lumbering figure of dad, coming down the creek with a huge branch and pulling it out onto the dam so we could verify that he was indeed an adult, with an unblemished tail.
It was very cheering.
Photo: Cheryl Reynolds
Another couple saw the light and came down to join us. We didn’t recognize them but they had been to both beaver meetings and knew the story. The man recalled that they had used to see a beaver colony regularly in Plumas County, to which I remarked this was where these beavers were supposed to be relocated. Turns out the woman had been the one to mention our potentially homeless beavers to Beverly Ogle of the Mountain Maidu tribe of Greenville Rancheria. Trappers and US Forestry took all their beavers, and they would have been grateful for ours.
Well, I’m grateful for ours too, but its nice to know how that link got established. I had always wondered how plumas county knew about them, and thought maybe city staff shopped around, but what are the odds of them handling anything so delicately? I just scanned through the Novemeber 7th video to find them, but could not. What I did see that I never did before is that Don Bernier, the documentary guy who got interested in our beavers, was there that night adjusting the microphone. I knew he he’d attended, but didn’t know he was recording it. Good. Honestly that meeting was so inspiring, it really needs to be on the big screen someday.
Four more interested watchers were drawn by the light and came to appreciate beavers in grand display. One man thought they had left becuase “he hadn’t heard anything about them on the news in a while”. (!) They all had things to say about the unattractive and unnecessary sheetpile, and were all very enthusiatic about the animals they were watching. With a crowd of beaver supporters, and some active healthy beavers, it was a very familiar and warm scene.
We came home in beaver-high spirits.
